August 2017

As fall rolls in, it's time to think about your fall reading lists! Whether you're assembling a library list to read during chilly evenings around a fire, a school list for AR points or college texts, sometimes it can require a lot of thought. Luckily libraries, used books and the Internet can usually make the process less painful, especially in the case of books for classes, but even then you do have to spend a bit to a fortune sometimes, depending on your class load.

Do you have a chid or friend in your life who loves to collect a bunch of facts? Are you a Jeopardy! lover yourself? If so, you would love the My Weird School: Fast Facts series. Written by Dan Gutman and illustrated by Jim Paillot, the series of books covers everything from geography to sports, space to biology and human health. It's a great pick for kids who love to learn a bunch of facts about their subjects of interest.

There's always been a big debate between what is better, the book or the novel, and most people who read the novels usually side with them save for a few exceptions. But now there's a new debate waging: the book versus the graphic novel! Everything from Game of Thrones to The Graveyard Book has a graphic novel adaptation, leaving both readers and movie watchers to ponder over which is better.

I still cringe writing the words "graphic novel." It just seems silly to me after a lifetime of reading excellent comic books that have always been called comics. Whatever you call them, they're fun to read, and I've recently started reading an excellent series called Lumberjanes. Written by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen and Noelle Stevenson, the comics are about a group of five fun girls with distinctive personalities who are attending a summer camp.

Are you a lover of all things fantasy? If so, which fantasy book of 2017 has been your favorite so far? Some of the most anticipated fantasy novels for the year include Pierce Brown's book Iron Gold and V. E. Schwab's series conclusion to the Shades of Magic trilogy. Did you enjoy either of these books as much as expected or did you like other fantasy novels better?